Swollen hands cause a house to rise up
Wow, I am amazed day after day how much work it is to fix up a house. I am even more amazed at the toll it takes on your body. You'd think that working on the house for 10 weeks now that my body would have gotten used to what we are doing, or to what I'm requiring them to do, but no, they refuse to learn, or, maybe accept it. I'm not sure what is going on with them, but they have taken all kinds of delight in swelling up and going numb as I'm sleeping. Not only on days that I've worked, but on days of rest. My fingers get so stiff that I'm not able to bend them. My palm and the back of my hand swell up so the skin is tight. I have found a way to fight back that really helps. I sacrificed a thumb fracture to the house not too long ago, and while that has healed, I believe it has set off the rest that I'm expereincing with my hands. People with fibromyalgia usually get that kind of bodily reaction. As I sit here, I have my Lidoderm patches wrapped all around my hand, wrist, and fingers. All swaddled in the life saving, at least to me, pain reducing patch. On top of that is my wrist splint from when I fractured said thumb. It has helped me to sleep at night. I think the lidocain makes it hurt less, but more importantly, the wrist splint causes my wrist and hand to be compressed which helps with the swelling. What made me think to try the splint was, when my hands were hurting so badly for the first time. I would pause every once in a while to stretch and rub my hand and wrist, but I found that it didn't do much good. So when my husband went to give me a hug, he did it as he found me...with my arms wrapped around my self. When he hugged, it compressed my hands between me and him, and ohhhhhhhh, instand relief. so from that point on, I tried all different things to see what would help. The wrist splint was the clear winner. I am on the search for some kind of glove that would give gently compression. Maybe I can find some kind of isotoner glove. The only problem I have, is that I have relatively large hands for a woman, and most gloves I find are a little too tight and I'm afraid that they will be too tight. If anyone has any suggestions on what to use, I'd appreciate it. Also If anyone has any tips on something that is less expensive than the Lidocain patches, I'd appreciate it. Even with insurance my copay is close to $90 a month. I wonder if they come in generic.
Ok, that's all for me. Holding my own at 2-3 migraines a week, but I think they have to do with stress of trying to get everything done to be ready to move in to the house in 2 weeks and the storms we keep having.
I hope everyone else is well. Keep your chin up so the sun can smile upon your face.
Ok, that's all for me. Holding my own at 2-3 migraines a week, but I think they have to do with stress of trying to get everything done to be ready to move in to the house in 2 weeks and the storms we keep having.
I hope everyone else is well. Keep your chin up so the sun can smile upon your face.
Comment
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Comment by Koryn Dimock on April 15, 2008 at 7:02pm -
Hi, guys, thanks for responding. Paula, those gloves are exactly what I'm looking for. I think I will order some as soon. I'll let you know what else I find out.
And Ellen, I'm so sorry you are hurting. I hope your swelling goes down soon. The shampoo bottle is a good idea. If I only used shampoos in bottles. lol I ususally use shampoo bars. I'll see if I have anything else similar. I agree, heat feels so good on my hands. I can't wait this this house stuff is over. I just about killed my arms today sanding. Soon, soon.
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Comment by Ellen S on April 15, 2008 at 3:50pm -
Hi Kori,
I occasionally get very similar symptoms, sans the broken hand (although I did that too about 2 yrs ago!) but I found nothing to take away the pain and the swelling. I know the cause is my thyroid tho, and when I see this beginning to happen (or feel it) I immediately call my doc for labs and get my meds adjusted. When I am going along with my FT4, FT3 and TSH properly balanced, along with the B12 (which in and of itself is anti-inflammatory) I actually feel pretty well. It sure beats not moving at all.
Another thing to consider is Pseudogout. It's a long shot, but you could be having some issues there, depending on what is actually happening to you to cause your pain and swelling. I seem to remember you have some metabolic issues so it would be good to be aware of it anyway. You can read more about Pseudogout at this American College of Rheumatology link which says in part:
"Pseudogout develops when deposits of calcium pyrophosphate crystals accumulate in a joint. Crystals deposit first in the cartilage and can damage the cartilage. The crystals also can cause a reaction with inflammation that leads to joint pain and swelling. In most cases it is not known why the crystals form, although crystal deposits clearly increase with age. Because the condition sometimes runs in families, genetic factors are suspected of contributing to the disorder as can a severely underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), excess iron storage (hemochromatosis), low magnesium levels in blood, an overactive parathyroid gland, and other causes of excessive calcium in the blood (hypercalcemia)."
Thyroid usually ends up causing more generalized swelling and even pitting edema in the legs, but when it is an issue in concert with pseudogout it may be difficult to discern the difference. The article says that it is difficult to diagnose and not often considered until permanent tissue damage occurs. It is more common in older people (so are hypOthyroid and other metabolic issues).
I happened to run into this the other day on a different personal search. The last time I swelled up like the goodyear blimp, my knee and a toe began hurting terribly. Nearly 2 months later I still can't bend my knee enough to sit on the floor and my toe is actually worse tho the generalized swelling went down *almost* to normal. My shoulders are waking me up in the night tho I can at least sleep laying down, and my hands and feet just constantly ache. I also tend to have increased calcium that has so far responded pretty well to balancing the hormones, B12 and adding magnesium occasionally. I don't want to go complaining to my GP about something silly, so am playing the wait-and-see game. Maybe not the smartest thing I could do, but I am SO tired of needing a doctor.
One way of helping with the pain is to make a hot water bottle. I use a small sized shampoo bottle and fill it with hot water and cover it with an sock. The great thing is that I can lay it in the palm of my hand and it is Sooo soothing. I can freshen it up with more hot water, or a minute in the microwave (loosening the lid first is required). It doesn't do a darned thing for the swelling that I can tell, but at least I don't seem to feel the pain quite the same. It doesn't hurt that it's free. :)
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